University of Virginia Library

“Syne, quhen we se our tyme to sail maist habill,
The blastis mesit, and the fludis stabill,
The softe piping wynd callyng to see,
Thar schippis than furth settis our menȝe:
Ȝe mycht haue sene the costis and the strandis
Fillit with portage and pepil tharon standis.
Furth of the havin we salit al onone;
The sicht of land and cite sone is gone.
Amyd the sey yclepit Egeos
Ane haly iland lyis, that hait Delos,
Beluffit of Neptune and the moder alswa
Of the Nereydes, clepit Doryda;
Quham the cheritabil archer, Appollo,
Quhen it flet rollyng from costis to and fro,
Saisit and band betwix other ilis twa,
Quhilk clepit ar Mycone and Gyara,
Stablisyng so that it mycht lauborit be,
And comptis nowthir the wynd nor storm of see.
Thidder ar we careit, and in that plesand land
A sovir havyn ressavit ws at hand.
Al wery beyn we yschit furth of schip
The cite of Apollo to wirschip.
The kyng tharof, yclepit Anyvs,
Prince of the men and preste eik to Phebus,
With bendis baith and haly lawrer crown
Set on his hed, met ws withowt the town;
His agit frend Anchises knew this kyng.
Handis we schuke with hartly welcumyng,
And to his palyce al with hym we went,
Quhar that I wirschip, as wes myne entent,
The god Apollo, within his hallowit hald
Or tempil beldyt al of stanys ald.
‘O thou,’ quod I, ‘Appollo Tymbreus,
Sum propir dwellyng place thou grant to ws:
We the beseik that schaw alsso thou wald
To ws irkit sum strenth and stalwart hald,
And at thou grant ws eik succession,
And for to dwel in a remanand town.
Salve ws, lattir wardis of Troy, that we ne spill,
Levyngis of Grekis and of the ferss Achill.
Geif ws thine answer quharon we sal depend;
Quhidder wilt thou, fader, at we now wend?
Quhar sall we set our lugyng to remane?
Condiscend in our myndis, and schaw this plane.’
Scarss war thir wordis said quhen that I se
Al thingis trymmyl and schaik neir abowt me,
The durris and the lawrer tre but dowt,
And al the montane movit rownd about;
A murmur or a rumysyng hard we haue
Within the courtyng and the secret cave;
The quyet closettis oppynnyt with a rerd,
And, we plat law gruflyngis on the erd,
A voce com til our erys, sayand thus:
‘O ȝe dowr pepil discend from Dardanus,
The ilke grond, fra quham the first stok cam
Of ȝour lynnage, with blyth bosum the sam
Sal ȝou ressaue thiddir returnyng agane:
To seik ȝour ald moder mak ȝou bane.
Thar sal Eneas lynnage haue senȝeory
Our al realmys and landis vndir the sky,
And thar sonnys, and sonnys sonnys syne,
And al that evir succedis of thar lyne.’
Thus said Phebus, and than, our folkis amang,
Mixt with blithnes a fellon dyn vpsprang:
‘Quhat place was this,’ euery ane fast gan frane,
‘Quhiddir callis Phebus? Byddis he ws turn agane?’
My fader than, revoluyng in his mynd
The discens of forfaderis of our strynd,
‘Nobillis,’ quod he, ‘harkis quhat I sal say,
And leyr at me ȝour weilfair, I ȝou pray.
The ile of Cret lyis amyd the see,
The native land of Iupiter maist hie;
Thar is the first hyll, yclepit Ida,
Thar our forbearis first in thar credlys lay;
The land maist plentevs of wyne, oyl and quhete,
Inhabyt with a hundreth citeis gret,
Quharfra thar com, gif I remembir rycht,
Our gret forfader Teucrus the wycht,
First to the cost of Rethea in Phrygy,
And for his cite chesit the set fast by—
For ȝit than was not Ilion vpbeld,
Nor the strang wallis of Troy, bot on the feld
Thai dwelt in lugys and mony litil cave.
The adornar eik of our realm we haue
From that land, the moder of goddis Cybele,
And blast of brasyn trumpettis, as ȝe se;
From thens com eik the wod of Idea,
And the traist serymonys of sacrifice alswa;
The fasson eik and gyss we lernyt thar
Quhou the lyonys suld draw the ladeis char.
Haue done onon, tharfor, and lat ws wend
Thiddir quhar the goddis oracle haith ws kend.
The wynd first lat ws meyss, or that we ga,
Syne seik the realm of Crete and Gnosia.
It is not thens lang cowrs nor vyage far;
Our navy salt, with help of Iupiter,
The thrid morow be at the cost of Crete.’
This beand said, ganand offerandis ful mete
Befor the altaris he slew in sacrifyce;
A bul first to Neptune, as is the gyss,
A bull to brycht Appollo for his beheist,
And to the god of tempestis a blak beist,
And to the chancy wyndis ane mylk quhite.
The fame was than, of Crete the cost stude quyte
Dissolate, but prince; for Idomeneus the kyng
Was by the pepil expellit from his ryng,
The lugyngis voyd and reddy to thar fays,
The sete left waist til ony it vptais.
The porte tharwith, Ortygia, leif we,
And with swift cowrs flaw throu the salt see;
By the iland swepit we onon
With hillis ful of wynys, hait Naxon,
By Donysa quhar growis the marbill greyn,
And by Paron with his quhite marbill scheyn,
By Olearon, and mony ilis, but less,
Skatterit in the sey, yclepit Cyclades;
We slyde throu fludis endlang feil costis fayr.
The noys vpsprang of mony marynar
Byssy at thar wark, to takilling euery tow,
Thar feris exorting, with mony heys and how,
To speid tham fast towart the realm of Crete,
With thar forfaderis and progenitouris to mete.
The followand wynd blew strek in our tail,
Quhill finaly arrive we, with bent saill,
Apon the ancyant cost of Curetanys,
A kynd of pepill quhilk into Crete remanys.
And sone I me enfors with diligence
To byg a wallit cite of defens;
Pargamea I namyt it, but baid:
Our folkis than, that warryn blyth and glaid
Of this kowth surname of our new cite,
Exort I to graith howsis and leif in le,
And rayss on hycht the strenth and fortaless.
Our schippis or this ful weil we gart adress
And lay almaist apon the dry sand.
The ȝong men fortil laubour thar new land,
And in honour of wedlok, as is the gyss,
Makkis thar offerand and thar sacryfyss,
And I thar statutis and seyr lawis thame tawcht,
Assyngnand ilkane propir howsis and aucht,
Quhen suddanly a cruel pest and traik,
So that cornys and frutis goith to wraik,
Throu the corruppit ayr and cowrss of hevyn,
A dedly ȝeir, far wers than I kan nevin,
Fell on our membris with sik infectioun
Was na remeid, cure nor correctioun;
The sweit sawlis lefis the bodeis ded,
Or seik thai ly gaspand in euery sted.
And forthir eik, Syryvs, the frawart star,
Quhilk clepit is the syng canicular,
So brynt the feildis al was barrand maid;
Herbis wolx dry, wallowyng, and gan to faid;
The seik grond denyis hys fruyt and fudis.
My fader exortis ws turn agane our fludis
To Delos, and Apolloys answer speir,
Besekyng hym of succurs ws to leir,
Quhat end ontil our irksum panys he sendis,
And be quhat way we mycht assay amendis
Of this turbacioun, or quhidder and quhar that he
Wil at we seik or set our cowrss our see.”